Toyota Brazil says it will now let soy and corn farmers trade grains for a Hilux. The Japanese auto giant wants some of that sweet, sweet harvest, and it will take the grains as payment not just for the Hilux, but the Corolla Cross and the SW4 (Fortuner), too. Crypto is out; corn and soy are in!
It sounds like an unusual arrangement but the program, Toyota Barter, has been around since 2019. Brazil is the biggest soybean producer in the world, per Bloomberg. Trades like this are not unheard of there as banks have tightened borrowing requirements in the last decade, according to Reuters.
Soy and corn production has only increased in the country. There’s less credit and cash around, but there’s plenty of crop. Tractor maker Case also accepts grain trades for its machinery, but trucks can be just as essential to farming. Trucks like the Toyota Hilux, for example.
Toyota Brazil says that 16 percent of its direct sales go to the ag industry. The manager for direct sales in Brazil, José Luis Rincon Bruno, said that the carmaker wants more:
Toyota Barter started as a pilot program in 2019, and as such, is the first sales channel in Brazil to accept grain when purchasing an automobile. We now have the chance to make the program official for the agricultural industry and to grow Toyota’s presence while giving back to one of the main economic sectors in our country,” said the direct sales manager for Toyota Brazil.
Toyota uses a third party company, NovaAgri, to make sure that those interested in bartering are farming legally and sustainably. The carmaker doesn’t want the trades to set back it’s emission reduction plans for 2050.
Once the trade is cleared, the corn or soy is taken as payment, without any money changing hands; it’s fascinating! NovaAgri said that through Toyota Barter, the carmaker has “been able to provide a unique sales program for farmers who’ve always considered the Hilux as a personal or business goal.”
So, It sounds like it’s not just for commercial use. Now excuse me, I’m going to try and figure out if I can move to Brazil, and trick the auto giant into trading me a truck for some Corn Nuts.
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